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Toyota Motor chair Akio Toyoda has gained 96.72 per cent approval for his re-election in a sign of significant shareholder support as the world’s largest carmaker starts to put a data falsification scandal behind it.
The stronger backing, revealed in a company filing on Friday, marks a major recovery from last year’s shareholders’ meeting, when the scion of Toyota’s founding family received just 72 per cent backing, the lowest ever for a director at the Japanese group.
Toyoda has come under fire from shareholders for poor governance practices that they say contributed to irregularities related to the certification of engines and vehicles at Toyota affiliates Daihatsu Motor, Hino Motor and Toyota Industries.
The carmaker has sought to mitigate those concerns with moves such as a proposal to introduce an audit committee and cutting the number of board members in February.
Proxy agencies Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis opposed Toyoda last year, holding him responsible for corporate culture issues, but recommended investors support his reappointment this time around. Shareholders approved his re-election in an annual meeting on Thursday.
Toyota’s profits in the year to March 2025 softened from record levels in the previous year, but remain high supported by surging popularity in hybrid models such as the Prius. US President Donald Trump’s tariffs have added to the carmaker’s challenges, with Toyota forecasting a $1.2bn hit to profits in April and May.
Despite the higher support for Toyoda, concerns about governance have flared up again after the carmaker and a related real estate company unveiled a deal last week to take parts supplier Toyota Industries private for $33bn.
While the transaction simplifies the automaker’s web of cross-shareholdings — a move that activist investors and the government have long demanded of Japanese companies — minority shareholders in Toyota Industries have balked at what they say is a low offer price.
Investors have accused Toyota Industries’ management of not fighting enough for a higher price, relying on unsuitable valuation methodologies and handing a favourable deal to Toyota Motor and its chair.
Toyoda, who has denied that the take-private is intended to strengthen his control over Toyota affiliates, is set to gain 0.5 per cent of voting rights in Toyota Industries.
The timing of the deal’s announcement did not give shareholders enough time to propose resolutions, which must be submitted several weeks before annual meetings.
Toyota Motor’s annual meeting on Thursday did not include any questions about the Toyota Industries deal or the effect of US tariffs, according to media reports.
